Property tax

Two out of three owners will see their Single Property Tax (ENFIA) drop 30 percent this year, as the 4,895,144 owners with assets valued at up to 60,000 euros who account for most of the government's tax easing policy make up 67 percent of all owners, according to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR).

This year's property tax bills will be posted online on August 31 and they will be lower than in 2018.

The owners of some 7.3 million properties will pay 10 to 30 percent less than last year, following the passage of a bill in the newly elected Parliament.

Property owners will pay about 2.07 billion euros in property tax this year, compared to 2.64 billion in 2018, while half of them, about 3 million, will pay up to 10 euros per month.

The taxpayers who bore the brunt of Greece's fiscal streamlining over the past five years will be getting a much-needed break as of this year, paying lower taxes on their real estate assets.

Seeking to lift some of the burden on property owners and to expedite its relief measures, the government is planning a 20 percent reduction of the highly unpopular ENFIA tax as of this year.

The Finance Ministry is considering the abolition of an amendment introduced by the previous government for a 10 percent average reduction of the Single Property Tax (ENFIA), the cost of which is estimated at 265 million euros, without ruling out New Democracy's own program on property taxation as of this year.

The government's pledge to reduce the minimum income tax rate from 22 to 9 percent for the first 10,000 euros declared will have a fiscal cost of at least 800-900 million euros per year.

The new tax bill that the Finance Ministry plans to submit to Parliament by the end of the month will provide for the reduction of the Single Property Tax (ENFIA) by about 30 percent for all owners within a couple of years, starting from 2020.

Easing the pressure on taxpaying households and businesses is the top priority for Greece's new finance minister, Christos Staikouras said on Tuesday as he took over the portfolio, adding that this will be evident in the first tax bills later this month.

Almost a million taxpayers have ended up on the losing side following the cancellation of the so-called countermeasures that were seen accompanying the now-scrapped reduction of the tax-free threshold, which according to a European Commission representative is problematic.